Returning to RV Travel With a Kitten After Shoulder Replacement

[JudyJB]

If you remember, after almost 14 years of full-timing, I emptied my motorhome, bought a detached condo in northeast Ohio not too far from one of my sons, unpacked and got settled, adopted a tiny kitten, then had a reverse shoulder replacement. My motorhome is in storage and my son advertised it for me and showed it to seven potential buyers. All were scared off by the extremely high mileage I had on the engine, and though I got a couple of offers, they were very low. So, about a month ago, I decided that rather than sell it for almost nothing and renting a condo in Florida for a month or so every year and doing some other traveling, I would keep it and use it as a sort of hotel. The outside is losing some of the gel coat, but the original full body paint still looks good, and all of the appliances work well, many of which were replaced in the past two years. I also had it checked by a truck repair place I trust here in Ohio.

So, right now, my plans are to drive it and my kitten down to Florida in mid-November, spend about a month down there, put it in storage in Florida, and either drive a rental car or fly back here with my kitten. I have four sets of cousins in Florida I am fairly close to, and already have an invitation for Thanksgiving.

I went out today and relined all the shelves and drawers and did some cleaning. I have been sorting out a lot of the old stuff I had had and replaced for my condo, so that stuff also got moved today. On Wednesday, I have a one-night reservation in a full-hookup site in a nearby state park where I will flush and add bleach to my water tank, plus get rid of the old winter antifreeze. Might add a second night in a nearby spot--don't know yet.

One son thinks my plans are good ones, the other son thinks I am too old at 83, but is not really fighting me. My shoulder is much better after my reverse shoulder replacement 7 weeks ago, and I feel a lot more enthusiastic about life having something to do and places to go.

The big issue is going to be the kitten!! When I adopted her, they told me to kitten-proof my house! Ha!! If any of you have had an 8-week old kitten, you know that is ridiculous advice. She is now 4.5 months old and weighs a whopping 5.5 pounds, but she can still get into the tiniest of places, so besides her carrier, I am going to look for something bigger to confine her as we drive long days, with a few stops to give her a break. QUESTION: I am thinking of putting a larger dog crate or a wire dog cage under my two-person dinette to give her a bit more room. Any suggestions? She will be 8 months old by mid-November. I am also going to start on leash training.

 

[UTTransplant]

Congratulations on getting better and the kitten! We have traveled with our cats (note the plural) for 20+ years. The only place we worry about them getting is in the slides. Kevin attached thin hardboard along the bedroom slide all our cats love to hide in. The other ones are visible, and the cats must be visible before we open up slides at all. We did have to put covers over buttons on the driver’s side since they love to walk around there. And I don’t leave the steering wheel tipped up often - nothing like a cat walking on that and setting off the air horn! Personally I would never train a cat to go outdoors, harness or not. They get used to it and they might slip out the door without you knowing! Plus they are exposed to all types of parasites and diseases in the outdoors. Make sure you have a couple of good scratching posts because little claws are not good for vinyl!

 

[RayIN]

Good for you!
I've been trying to set up my cell-phone with a pre-recorded text message to our children, so I can merely push one button checking in each morning so they know I've alive and well while traveling. Wish I was tech-savvy.
Speaking of traveling, I only drive 200-250 miles/day now, traffic is so much more congested now.

 

[Larry N.]

Glad your shoulder is much better, Judy, and it sounds as if you have a new outlook on the future- that's great. Looking forward to hearing more as things progress for you.

 

[John From Detroit]

I think the big dog crate is a good idea.. And I agree Kitten Profing is not happening.
When I started with the motor home we had two cats one just past kitten stage the other a few months older. I used lattace fence panels (4) to build a "Cat house" over the dining table.. Vinyl it limited their movement to an area only slightly larger than the table and chairs stowed for travel and was "Soft" if I did a panic stop not that that ever happened.

I had one more panel so it could be set up outside too.

Eventually the cats found their own hidey hole for travel,

Of the two one was "Dora the explorer" she'd love to get out and wander about if we let her.
She would let me leash her so we could go walk about safely

The other.. If you left the door open he'd sit on the top step looking at you like "What did you leave the door open for, I'm not going outside" and fight you if you tried to make him. he fought the leash.

If your cat will allow a collar.. Get a pet finder thing (a beeper with a remote so you can beep beep your way to it)

 

[Jackiemac]

Good to hear your op went well, and that you still feel good about travelling. It warms my heart to hear this as I know how much it means to you. You're an inspirational lady Judy!!

 

[RockyHill1]

Great news! I have thoroughly enjoyed reading your posts. I'm thankful for your successful surgery and the ability for you to get back to enjoying your RV and travels.

Wish I could offer suggestions for the kitten; we're in the totally opposite position. Our 19+ year old cat cannot be left at home with automatic feeder and daily check in by family. Our last little trip she came with us on her first RV experience. Although I had my concerns, it went extremely well. Although she had some motion sickness in her pet carrier it was not a "cat"astrophe. She found her favorite spot in the bathroom with her head against the toilet. (She let us use the facilities ).

I'm confident you and the kitten will have great times. I look forward to hearing about them.

Welcome back!

Shelia

 

[Arch Hoagland]

You have to keep going to keep going. So I say press on!

 

[garyb1st]

Welcome back. You picked a great time to come back. There are at least 3 threads on aging and whether or not it's time to hang up the keys. Hopefully you will post on one or all and give us your thoughts.

 

[JudyJB]

I have to say that not driving for 6 weeks and wearing a horrible sling for that period were the hardest parts of my surgery. My older son from California flew in for the first two weeks, and shoulder replacement is one surgery that you really do need 24 hour help for the first week or two (preferably two weeks). This is evidenced by the fact that I fell getting up from my recliner in the middle of the night and had to call him for help. Because I could only use one hand and no one could touch my surgical shoulder, he could not help me up and we had to call 911. The ambulance staff had to slide me onto a folder sheet and hold onto each corner to life me onto a shower stool, from which I was able to stand up. Luckily,it was a very slow fall, so i did not hurt anything.

Also, I had to sleep in my recliner for 6 weeks. I tried my bed including using big foam wedge, but the sling and my shoulder and arm needed to be propped up and we just could not do it. (Kitten slept on a tiny bed on the end table next to my chair every night!)

The recliner was the only thing that was even remotely comfortable, but having my head higher than my legs that were on the footer of the recliner ended up causing serious edema in my legs. And the edema caused a bright red rash that is still going away. That rash itched and burned and required three doctor appointments.

And while I am not too far from my son and his family, I was in a new neighborhood and stuck not being able to drive, so this really caused some depression which I am finally getting over.

I had both knees replaced more than a decade ago and that was relatively easy compared to this shoulder replacement. Also each doctor has their own protocol for this surgery and while I had a five-day nerve block and not a lot of pain, this was positive, plus my arm and shoulder are healing well. Wearing that horrible sling was torture, however, as was getting dressed and doing much of anything. (Cousin's wife in Florida had only two weeks in sling but a lot more pain than I did, interestingly, and a lot of PT, which I had absolutely none of. My surgeon gave me passive exercises, but he said he felt physical therapists occasionally got too aggressive.

You can see why I am looking forward to doing a little more traveling and camping after all of this.

 

[jymbee]

You can see why I am looking forward to doing a little more traveling and camping after all of this.

It's nothing short of amazing that having gone through all you describe-- you're looking forwards to getting back in the saddle so to speak! We'll all be looking forward to hear of your progress.

 

[JudyJB]

I think the big dog crate is a good idea.. And I agree Kitten Profing is not happening.
When I started with the motor home we had two cats one just past kitten stage the other a few months older. I used lattace fence panels (4) to build a "Cat house" over the dining table.. Vinyl it limited their movement to an area only slightly larger than the table and chairs stowed for travel and was "Soft" if I did a panic stop not that that ever happened.

I had one more panel so it could be set up outside too.

Eventually the cats found their own hidey hole for travel,

Of the two one was "Dora the explorer" she'd love to get out and wander about if we let her.
She would let me leash her so we could go walk about safely

The other.. If you left the door open he'd sit on the top step looking at you like "What did you leave the door open for, I'm not going outside" and fight you if you tried to make him. he fought the leash.

If your cat will allow a collar.. Get a pet finder thing (a beeper with a remote so you can beep beep your way to it)

I did not know about Pet finders, so I looked them up. I know she will try to escape because she constantly does and I am constantly looking to make sure where the cat is.

A lot of the pet finder collars are made for adult cats, and mine is still tiny, so for this test trip tomorrow, I will keep her inside with maybe a short walk on a leash. I did get a harness for her, but putting it on is going to take some work, to say the least, and I just got most of the leg scratches and bites on my arms healed. Those kitten baby incisors are like needles, and I have fragile skin. Will try bribes with real tuna. By November, she will be bigger.

 

[Ohiosnowbird]

We travel with 5 cats and recently one of them was a kitten. She’s Abyssinian which means a total barrel of energy. She also could squeeze into tiny spaces so we had to contain her while driving. We’ve turned the loft area above the driver and passenger seats into “kitty land” where they mostly sleep when we’re moving.

See the crate in the loft? That’s where she stayed while they all got used to each other. She slept in there at night. It’s a medium dog crate. She’s on top of it in the picture.

One of the most important things we did was harness train her. While young they don’t know any better. It was a bigger deal to teach the older ones, but it was funny once they saw the baby on the leash they were all fine with it too.

At home at the farm the cats don’t wear collars, but on the road they all do complete with air tags. They are all chipped too. You can see the kitten’s airtag. When we travel, at least when she was small she was always in her harness and I kept control or in that medium crate, now that she’s older, she gets to hang out in the kitty loft.

At camp grounds, space permitting we have extra large dog crates that we set on the picnic table so they can go outside and sit with us. The crates break down flat and we attach them on the back bumper. They’ll take turns going for walks in harnesses while we’re out there.

For added fun we have the kitten wonderland:

We added on to that, all the parts zip together and compact down into a very small pouch.

A lady in a campground told us about the itent system which we’ve upgraded to and will be using next time out. You can read about that at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/ITENT...f_=ast_bln&store_ref=bl_ast_dp_brandlogo_sto\


If you have any questions, just ask.

 

[Arch Hoagland]

Judy...is your cat chipped?

 

[John From Detroit]

I just got most of the leg scratches and bites on my arms healed.

Just a warning cat scratches can be serious (Cat scratch fever is a real thing)

But if you train her to harness now it's easier than later

The one I used on Amber (My female) attached to a collar, it did not come with one. So you got the proper size .

Cat collars are supposed to have a stretchy bit so if the cat gets it stuck they can get out of it by the way.. This can be an issue.

 

[JudyJB]

I've got a couple of harnesses, but one is way too big. Will try tomorrow. We had a longer drive in the heat today than I had planned. I picked up motorhome by myself and after stopping for propane, I drove it to my house so my son could come over and carry my old recliner into it. Then we filled the fresh water tank, and noticed that water was spewing down the road. I had thought it was a plug not put back in, but I cannot get on the ground to look under rig, so son had to do it. (Problem is not being able to put weight on left arm and shoulder.) He discovered it was a connection to my water pump, so I packed up cat and drove to the only nearby RV service place and the mechanic looked at it and said he would have to somehow make a part from what they had, which is what they did. Cat and I sat in car in AC.

Then drove to get gas and I got some food, so we were in car at least 2 1/2 hours. When we got to campground, i got set up and then let her out. Gave her food, which was a mistake because she threw up. Any advice on how long I should wait after a drive to feed cat? That was four hours ago, so I just gave her half of what I normally give her--keeping fingers crossed.

 

[JudyJB]

Oh, and I have a weak immune system from having Chronic Lymphatic Leukemia about 6 years ago. I am in a solid remission, but the targeted drug treatment damaged my immune system. Vet did say I could get cat tested for it, but I have not bothered yet. Been focusing on recovering from shoulder replacement, but I know I should follow up on this.

 

[jymbee]

Any advice on how long I should wait after a drive to feed cat?

Cat advice? Yeah, right... As you no doubt know trying to figure out the habits of any feline often is an exercise in futility. Out kitty goes through periods where she throws up a lot. So we try everything. Maybe less dry food and more can? More can, less dry? Smaller portions? Changing feeding time?

And yep, no discernable pattern as a result of us trying to figure out what might cause this behavior. Then she'll go for long periods of normality (normal for a cat anyhow).

But I think she does get some kind of smarty-ass pleasure in watching us fuss over her so much.

 

[JudyJB]

I have been frustrated because my kitten used to turn her nose up at anything with salmon in it, and her favorite wet food was turkey. (I feed her wet food on top of a small pile of dry. She eats the wet food first, but often eats much of the dry as a snack.)

Anyway, she was a very skinny 9 week old when I got her as a rescue so I have worked to put a bit of meat on her bones. So, recently, she fell in love with salmon and real tuna and turned her nose up at turkey. Now she also likes chicken!!! At this point, since she is supposed to be fed 4 times a day, she has no specific feeding times.

This makes buying wet kitten food a guess. I have learned to put stuff she does not like aside because she will eventually like it again!!! There is a line in the musical Cats that says about one cat "He do what he do do." Luckily, this is the first time she has thrown up her food.

 

[whiteva]

She will be 8 months old by mid-November. I am also going to start on leash training.

Tried leash training with my cat, who immediately became an AH-64 attack helicopter. We had a little sit down discussion and agreed to never try that again.
Glad you are back on the road again.